Our mother left a light footprint... she had few preferences, rarely got angry, and while she may have gone where the wind blew her, she lived generously, in service to others, and held her own. Her quiet ways did not mean she was absent, or uninvolved. She was a hard worker, and while she rarely initiated activities that were "fun", she did know how to laugh and occasionally relax into some joy. Towards the end of her life, she was quite funny!
Norma Lea Custer was born on December 12th, 1927 in her family farm home, just outside of Chester, Oklahoma. She was number 6 of 8, and survived 6 siblings and 2 husbands.
She was widowed in 1952 at the age of 24, with an 8 month old daughter, Linda. Her union with Martin Carmichael was brief, and ended before she really knew what was happening. She married Gene Anderson in 1955, and was married for 54 years. Their son, Gerry, and daughter, Lisa, were born in 1956 and 1960.
When she graduated from Enid General Hospital School of Nursing in 1948, she had dreams of living in a city apartment and being in charge of a unit in a busy city hospital. Love and loss ended that dream, and, she did work as a surgical nurse and a school nurse in Kingsville, Texas where she met and married Gene, and raised her 3 children. While Kingsville was a small town, she was well respected and loved by her colleagues and the physicians with whom she worked, and, she was certainly busy!
Norma and Gene left Kingsville, built a house on Lake Brownwood and many good family times were had there. All of her children and grandchildren enjoyed the holiday visits and the beauty of the lake. After 8 years or so, there was a move to Georgetown, and finally, the move to Austin in late 2006.
After a fall, and closed head injury, in 2007, our mother was not the same person. Gene died in 2009, and her care was in our hands. She slipped away in her sleep, sometime in the early morning hours of January 2, 2015. The two weeks before her death were spent in holiday gatherings of family and friends. She met her second great granddaughter, and had sweet moments with each of her grandchildren. Now that she is gone, these times have taken on added meaning.
Norma was born at home, and died at home. She will be missed by Linda and Bill, Gerry and Larin, and Lisa; her children and caregivers; her grandchildren - Shaela (Jason), Tamra, Devon, Brendon, Nicholas (Shannon), Jory (Elizabeth), and Cyrus; her great granddaughters; Sloane and Norah, and by her special caregivers since August, Sue and Elanda. As well, by so many friends of our family who have walked this journey with us.
She is gone, and her sweetness is not...
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